Macquarie impresses, Challenger disappoints, & Suncorp rises

At lunch on Tuesday the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has failed to follow the lead of US markets and is dropping lower. The benchmark index is currently down 0.4% to 6,854.3 points.

Here’s what is happening on the market today:

Macquarie update impresses

The Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) share price is jumping higher today after investors responded very positively to the release of its third quarter update. According to the update, Macquarie experienced improvements in trading across its business during the three months ended 31 December. This led to growth across both its annuity-style businesses and markets-facing businesses compared to the prior corresponding period. Looking ahead, management expects to report a full year…